NowyStyl_Reunion_A new office reality_EN

Homo-Workus D ynamic changes require constant adaptation. We already know that it’s impossible to go back to the days before the pandemic - this knowl- edge is backed by our experience, new expectations and a different cultural situation. Office space will have to compete not only with any other space that can be deemed “workable.” The main rivals are the computer, virtual reality and 100% remote work. Each work necessarily relies on humans - our needs, expectations and values - while a career, just like any other area of life, follows a certain cycle. Considering a variety of activities, duties, or biographies is aimed at improving the well-being at work and boosting our satisfaction. It’s good to recognise the employee’s life cycle, their changing needs and conditions and to reflect these aspects in the office space, regardless of the global trends, which don’t always accommodate the needs of individual companies. also complained that they found it hard to feel connected to their colleagues and to the company, which is reflected in the trend known as the “great migration.” Positive relations at the workplace boost your self-esteem and cater to your need for belonging, thus offering extra support when you’re faced with difficult situations at work. It’s also good to remember that office arrangement itself has considerable cultural and relationship-building potential, so it’s worth investing in it and adjusting it to the changing reality. Learning and shaping the elements of organisational culture helps create a unique vibe, an atmosphere the employees are immersed in. The pandemic not only loosened the ties between the employees but also weak- ened the connection you felt with your company and the employer. Closing down the offices and limiting social contact resulted in a massive tendency to change jobs. This is evident in our clients’ accounts. Based on the outcome of the studies presented in the CBRE report, 6 we know that during the pandemic not only the staff turnover rocketed, but the pressure related to achieving high results soared as well. Consequently, relationships grew weaker and teams experienced tension and conflict, as the workload increased and the remaining employees felt exhausted. Businesses often don’t realise that the employees are reluctant to return to the office, not because of their bad intentions or laziness. The reasons might be found in deep-rooted relations or the organisational structure - sometimes a company fails to build a sense of community and belonging and does not cater to the basic needs and expectations of its employees. The consequences related to social restrictions resulted in new business chal- lenges - how to retain employees and increase their sense of belonging to the company. How to maintain a balance between productivity, well-being and a sense of community in the changing work environment. On the other hand, the new trend - gradual return to office work and increasing significance of virtual jobs - involves a greater need for being connected and a sense of belonging. This is true regardless of where the employees are working. On-site work will look com- pletely different now: organisations need to make sure their physical space is well adjusted to the new challenges and properly arranged to cater to the needs of the people who work there. “I found it hard to leave my previous job, where I worked in the office - mainly because I knew these people personally. We had coffee and lunch together, we used tomeet up afterwork.” Daniel Szetela, Software Developer We still need offices to maintain a degree of identification and a sense of belonging. Without it, we are becoming a group of freelancers, who only meet every now and then. During the forced remote work, the sense of community within teams dropped by 28% , the feeling of recognition fell by 17% , and the sense of being close to the immediate superior decreased by 21% . 7 THE NEED FOR SELF-ACTUALISATION THE NEED FOR INTIMACY AND BELONGING THE NEED FOR RESPECT AND RECOGNITION THE NEED FOR SAFETY PHYSI- OLOGICAL NEEDS According to Maslow human being is an individual, with a number of different needs. These needs are realised also at work - in and outside the office. Needs in the office of the future In the contemporary world, we are faced with a challenge and expectations related to build- ing relationships, collaborativeworkingmodel and mutual exchange. Employees expect and prioritise development opportunities. How do you make it happen? The above challenges might be successfully tackled if you focus on positive interpersonal relations. Interpersonal relations (particularly their quality) are a basic element of everyday real- ity in workplace. These relations are based on communication and comprise specific ways of sharing knowledge, information, thoughts, feelings, attitudes, values and beliefs. At work, this is about using your competencies, skills and personality traits to start and maintain relations with other employees. Our career is essentially a set of activities based on maintaining certain interpersonal relations. The need for belonging No face-to-face contact and personal meetings with other teammembers affected the quality of interpersonal relations and teamwork. Individual people, with their ideas and communications, are the foundation of all relationships in a team. See- ing employees primarily as humans fosters collaboration, which is conducive to interactions and relations. As the relations are formed at the workplace, people form groups that share a common goal and direction. Being a group – a separate unit – is a special kind of bond, which helps you communicate and solve problems. What is more, such relationships can change and transform over time - something that started as a professional relationship may grow into a lifelong friendship. Some employees, especially those who changed jobs during the pandemic, actu- ally saw their colleagues only after two years of working together. The employees 6 CBRE (2021). Raport badawczy. Praca z domu czy z biura? 7 Jabra Hybrid Ways of Working: 2021 Global Report 07 06 Contents